Abstract: Aims. We report new VLBA polarimetric observations of the compactsteep-spectrum CSS quasar 3C147 B0538+498 at 5 and 8.4GHz.Methods. By using multifrequency VLBA observations, we derivedmilliarcsecond-resolution images of the total intensity, polarisation, androtation measure distributions, by combining our new observations with archivaldata.Results. The source shows a one-sided structure, with a compact region, and acomponent extending about 200 mas to the south-west. The compact region isresolved into two main components with polarised emission, a complex rotationmeasure distribution, and a magnetic field dominated by componentsperpendicular to the source axis.Conclusions. By considering all the available data, we examine the possiblelocation of the core component, and discuss two possible interpretations of theobserved structure of this source: core-jet and lobe-hot spot. Furtherobservations to unambiguously determine the location of the core would helpdistinguish between the two possibilities discussed here.